


Much Ado About Dragons

by Rostonteaparty



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-30
Updated: 2020-05-30
Packaged: 2021-03-03 04:14:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,535
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24448681
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rostonteaparty/pseuds/Rostonteaparty
Summary: So, I wrote this circa 2016 for Zutara week and never posted it.Please enjoy it and all the random allusions to other literature.Zuko and Katara (and Gaang) go to watch the Ember Island Players and it awakens a love of the theatre of our beloved Master Waterbender.
Relationships: Katara/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 5
Kudos: 28
Collections: Zutara Week 2016





	1. Dragons Pt. 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dragons (8/14)  
> Reincarnation (8/15)  
> Memories (8/16)  
> Lilac (8/17)  
> Fever (8/18)  
> Coffee (8/19)  
> Candles (8/20)

Zuko pinched the bridge of his nose, a vain attempt at shutting out the commotion in his private dining room. A third aggravated groan slipped out of his mouth. He pounded his fist on the table, spitting out, “Enough!”  
Sokka stopped wrestling with Aang. The monk stood over him, his glider pressing against the warrior’s throat. Toph and Iroh paused in their game of Pai Sho. The earthbender didn’t hold back the snicker as she muttered, “Sparky’s mad. What a surprise.”  
Katara and Suki cut off their giggle-laden conversation that they had punctuated with “I can’t believe that!” or “Did you see how--”  
Six pairs of eyes focused on the surly Fire Lord. Waiting.  
“The Ember Island Players have accepted the invitation given by my Uncle.” Zuko paused, levelling Iroh with a withering look. The Dragon of the West returned with a pleased smile. “They’re going to butcher Love Amongst the Dragons for the umpteenth t--”  
“Not quite, nephew,” interrupted Iroh. “The troupe has been hard at work creating a new masterpiece. They call it Much Ado About Dragons-- a comedic tale of would-be lovers who bicker and fight instead of admitting their love.”  
“Much Ado About Dragons.” Suki repeated the title, corners of her mouth upturning. “Is it based on a Fire Nation folk tale?” She added, her bright blue eyes slid to the Fire Lord.  
“Ask Uncle. He knows more than I do.” His voice wavered, distrusting the look in the warrior’s eyes.  
“No, it is based on more contemporary events,” Iroh answered, a twinkle in his eye.  
Toph snickered once more, throwing her body back onto the floor. She tucked her arms behind her head and said, sarcasm dripping, “Bickering lovers, eh? I bet their friends all know they’re in love but they’re too hard-headed to admit it. Oooh, I bet they almost got together when they were younger too, huh?”  
Katara’s gaze wandered to Zuko, cheeks reddening. She had known their alleged affair fueled many torrid stories and plays since the war ended. But that had been five years ago. It seemed the rumors continued to spread and manifest themselves into a play.  
Zuko’s thoughts ran much the same way. With his ascension to the throne, those blasted rumours only grew and grew. He’d been unable to do anything about it. A Fire Lord can’t simply order his people to stop gossiping about him. Like they would anyway. His private life was of the utmost interest until he got married. With Mai gone some months after he became Fire Lord, they waited with bated breath. Even the guards found themselves nearby whenever the Water Tribe girl entered his study. Waiting for any sort of noise they might pass along to the public to confirm the rumours.  
As if planned, both Katara and Zuko rose from the table and declared their intent to leave.  
“I have some proposals to look over.”  
“I think I have a headache.”  
Then, they bolted in completely opposite directions.  
Toph shook her head.“Those two are blinder than I am.” As an afterthought she added, “They’re hearts went wild when you announced the title of the play.”  
Sokka groaned at her words. “Sometimes he looks at Katara like he wants to eat her up. Like she is the most delicious fire flake in existence.” Shudders overtook his body, but he continued, “I didn’t like it at first, but, I mean, they’ve been dodging each other for years now. It’s just painful to witness.”  
“They have?” Aang’s voice, no longer one of a child, inquired. Nearly a man, he had grown taller than his friends, but the impish gleam in his eyes never disappeared. “Katara and Zuko…? Are you guys sure? He’s so ‘I AM THE GREAT FIRE LORD,’ and she is so nice and sweet.”  
Everyone groaned at the comparison. Even as a young man, Aang refused to see knock Katara from the pedestal in his mind. Even when she kindly ended their relationship years ago with tears in her eyes.  
Suki hunched over the table, motioning for the others to lean close. “Katara has told me in the strictest of confidence that she admitted her feelings to him a few months ago.”  
“WHAT?!”  
“Hush!” Suki hissed. “You can’t say anything! But she said that he rejected her.”  
The response was deafening. Iroh shook his head and sipped his tea. Sokka looked ready to haul off with his trust boomerang and find the Fire Lord.  
“He thinks he’s too good for my baby sister!”  
“That is not good,” muttered Iroh.

Katara retired to her room, sinking onto the silken sheets of her bed. She hadn’t missed how Zuko’s eyes darted to her during breakfast. She tried her best to ignore the searing look to his amber eyes, reminded herself that he did not want her like that. That she was not his type. That she did not belong in the Fire Nation.  
Though months had passed, her heart remained raw. Every meeting with Zuko pained her to the point where she cried herself to sleep. Still, he graced her with small smiles and sought her opinion on assorted political and social matters.  
“Why?” She muttered. It didn’t make sense. He made no sense! Katara buried her face in the pillow and screamed out her frustration. Now she had to go to that silly play and watch a foolish love story play out on stage, alluding to Zuko and her. Every single line spoken would be a dart to her heart.  
Her pity party was ruined by a loud knock on her door. “Sweetness! Open up! NOW!”  
Katara groaned, sitting up on her bed, “Come in, Toph!”  
The earthbender kicked down the door, hands balled into fists. “Toph! What are you doing?!”  
“Listen here, Sweetness, how dare you not tell me about your little confession to Sparky!”  
“What? Where did you--” Katara punched at her bed. “Suki,” she seethed. “I shouldn’t have told her. But she saw me crying afterward.”  
Toph flopped onto Katara’s floor, resting her chin in her hands. “You told Zuko you loved him?”  
“Well, I didn’t come right out and say it. I was nervous and so my words got jumbled.”  
“Tell me everything, Sugar Queen. It’s important.”  
Katara picked at invisible dust on her sheets, and muttered, “I’m not sure why it’s import--”  
“Tell. Me.”

_She sought him out on a tranquil evening. Katara already knew where he’d be. Most evenings found him in the small courtyard with the turtle duck pond. Of course, Katara also found herself there too. Tonight was different. She felt it in her bones. She visited the palace often, splitting her time between the South Pole and the Caldera. Those years of visits turned their friendship into something more. Love.  
Her cheeks warmed with the thought. Tonight, she decided to tell him that. To finally reveal her deep feelings for him. Katara only hoped that he felt the same way. She felt that he did. But, even now, the Fire Lord was hard to read.  
She dressed in a new silken robe in a soft red, sleeves trailing on the green grass. She had taken great care with her appearance, a delicate cloud of fire lily and jasmine perfume wafting about her.  
“Zuko,” she called out, voice carrying on the gentle evening breeze. The Fire Lord lounged against a tree, his crown gleaming in the fading light.  
“Katara,” he returned with a smile in his tone. “I’ve been waiting for you.”  
She crossed the small courtyard and took her usual spot at his side. “I was delayed.” Katara preened beneath his curious stare, golden eyes roaming over her.  
“I see.”  
Then they talked about their days. Zuko moaned about his meetings and inept councilors, asking for her opinion on various matters. She served as an unofficial ambassador, eager to protect her homeland’s interests. Katara, with Zuko’s permission, visited poorer towns to bring food and medical aid. The Fire Nation citizens had begrudgingly accepted her aid.  
When there was a lull in the conversation, Katara cleared her throat.  
“Zuko, I need to say something to you.”  
Zuko turned to her, good eyebrow cocked. “What is it?”  
“I want to stay here in the Fire Nation with you. All the time.”  
She thought his heart skipped a beat. His lopsided eyes widened in surprise. His lips began to upturn. Until suddenly, he turned his head away. His next words were said in the tone reserved for his public life.  
“Katara...you don’t belong here. The Fire Nation isn’t your home. You have family in the South Pole. I’ve been selfish keeping you away from them.”  
“What do you mean? This place feels more like my home then the South Pole. It was all so different when I returned after the war. It wasn’t what I remembered.” She searched for the correct words to say next, but they didn’t come. Just say it, Katara. Tell him you love him. Tell him you want to be with him.  
“You have no reason to be here.”  
She stumbled to her feet, tripping over the long hems. The tears had risen to her eyes unbidden and she wiped them away with the back of her hand. “Then I’ll leave if you don’t want me.” _

In the present, heart heavy, Katara wiped away more traitorous tears. The noise coming from Toph stopped her sniffling. The earthbender rolled around on the floor, clutching her stomach.  
“Oof, Sugar Queen, you are as dense as Sparky.”  
“W-what? I told him my feelings for h--”  
“Wrong!” Interrupted Toph. “You said nothing about your feelings. Not once did you say, ‘Oh Zuko, I love you ever so much and I want to live here and kiss you forever.’”  
Katara bristled, rounding on her friend. “He should have read between the lines!”  
Toph lifted her shoulders in a shrug. “I mean, you’re probably right. Though both of you might have benefitted from more communication.”  
“What do you mean?”  
“It’s not my place to say.” Toph pulled herself off the floor. “Well, my job is done. Don’t beat yourself up about it, Sweetness. You’re still in the game.”

Across the palace, the Fire Lord paced his study. He had to go to the play. He already promised his attendance. Barring any uprising, he would be sitting in his private balcony with his friends, witnessing his alleged love story.  
Great.  
“Nephew!” His uncle shuffled into the study in a state of agitation. “Did you reject Katara when she confessed to you?”  
Zuko snorted in derision. “She never confessed to me. She said she wanted to live here all the time. I told her she didn’t belong here. She said…” he trailed off, clenching his hand into a fist, “That the Fire Nation feels more like home that the South Pole. So, I told her she had no reason to live here.”  
Iroh hung his head. What a sticky mess. But his nephew continued rambling. “I mean, she wasn’t supposed to just leave after I said that! She was supposed to--” He kicked at the corner of a rug.  
“I want her here, of course. But not because she has nowhere else to go.”  
“I don’t imagine Katara meant it that way,” insisted Iroh. Zuko stopped and peered over at his uncle.  
“Then what way? Why did you say Katara confessed to me?” The Fire Lord’s face reddened. “When you say confession...did you mean a love conf--no! That’s foolish. Katara would never confess to me.” His fingers consciously went to his scar, fingers running over the puckered skin. “In any case, Uncle, I’m busy.” He sunk into his high-backed chair, examining his desk with weariness. Multiple scrolls from both his country and the world littered his desk, begging his input, his seal.  
“Shall I send Miss Katara to help you? She enjoys this sort of busy work.”  
Zuko breathed out through his nose and muttered, “Only if she wants to.”


	2. Dragons Pt. 2

And she did. After her talk with Toph, Uncle Iroh knocked at her door. He complained over his nephew’s workload and how the Fire Lord wanted her help in his study.  
Katara blinked twice at the retired general. “Of course, I’ll help.” She looked down at herself. “Let me just freshen up, then I will go straight there.”  
“Wonderful, Katara.” Iroh went about on his way while Katara turned back to her room. Within minutes, the fresh-faced waterbender emerged from her room. Anxious fingers smoothed out the wrinkles of the thin silk robe. Katara reached the door of his study within minutes.  
The two guards posted at the door nodded at the waterbender in acknowledgement. “He is expecting you, Master Katara.” He pulled open the door, cracking a smile.  
“Thank you, Lien.”  
Zuko sat behind his great desk, forehead wrinkled in concentration. Strands of silky hair fall from his topknot to frame his face. His lips moved in silence as he read over a scroll.  
“W-What can I help with?”  
The Fire Lord jerked his head up at the intrusion. “Katara!” He shot out of his chair. “Can you help me sort through all this? So I can find out what is of the utmost importance. There are invitations, treaties and I just--I’m a bit overwhelmed.” His voice squeaked on the end. Suddenly, Katara didn’t see the twenty year old Fire Lord anymore. The sixteen-year old banished prince replaced him, just a boy who felt alone in the world. Katara’s heart twisted.  
She crossed the room to his side, a hesitant smile gracing her lips. “You know I enjoy organizing things. How about you sit back and I’ll read them off to you.” Katara reached for a scroll tied with a green ribbon. “Then you can tell me where to put it. So, we’ll sort by invitations, treaties, personal letters, letters of state and then ‘matters that require immediate attention’. Sound good?”  
The Fire Lord breathed out in relief, shoulders drooping. “Thank you, Katara. You’re irreplaceable.”  
One of his rare, brilliant smiles, grew on his lips. Katara averted her eyes from him as her brain began to shut down. Breathe, Katara.  
“Now, this is from King Kuei. It is an invitation to a party for Bosco.” With a sigh, she placed down on the desk. “Moving on.” She retrieved another one. “This is from Chief Arnook….” Her eyes scanned over it. “You are paying reparations to the Water Tribes?”  
“Er, yes,” he replied quietly. “The Fire Nation finally has their finances in order and I promised to make reparations to those most affected by the war...which is, of course, the Water Tribes.”  
“I wonder why dad never mentioned this,” she murmured.  
“It hasn’t been formally approved yet. Chief Arnook and your father will be here for the winter to finalize it as sort of a peace summit.”  
“That is wonderful!” She started a new pile with this letter.  
“I’m pleased you approve.”  
The work continued for an hour until Katara picked up a scroll tied with a black ribbon. She tossed the ribbon aside and unfurled the letter. The colour drained from her face as she announced flatly, “It’s from Mai.” Her fingers crinkled around the edges of the scroll, a quiet fury sweeping through her.  
Zuko tilted his head to the side. “Mai? Why is she writing me?”  
“Perhaps she wishes to rekindle your rel--” Katara paused, eyes slitting at the contents. “That’s exactly what she wants.”  
He snorted with a roll of his eyes. “That doesn’t sound like Mai. We parted ways years ago.”  
“Read it yourself then,” muttered Katara, tossing the letter at him. She folded her arms across her chest, leaning back against his desk. Mai. Katara did not hate the woman exactly, but she kissed Zuko far too many times and that’s what Katara hated. Despite Mai’s nonchalant attitude, she belonged in the Fire Nation and understood the royal life. She just didn’t want anything to do with it. Still, she was tall and elegant with perfect porcelain skin, which Zuko had apparently liked once upon a time.  
“This is...odd,” said Zuko, at last. A frown tugged on the corners of his lips. “When we broke-up, we both knew it was for good. She had no interest in the work of a Fire Lady and I...well, my attentions were elsewhere.”  
“Maybe she changed her mind,” she ground out, tone violent.  
Zuko dropped the letter on his desk and looked up to Katara. “What’s wrong?”  
“Nothing at all.” Her blue eyes ignored the concern across his face. “It’s great...isn’t it? If Mai wants to get back together.”  
“Not at all.” Zuko raised a shaky hand to tug her arms free from their tight hold on her body. He grasped her small brown hand in his, thumb dragging across her smooth skin. “Because I do not love Mai. I love someone else.” He explained in a careful voice.  
Katara felt a sob die in her throat. “Someone else?” She whispered.  
“Look at me, Katara,” he pleaded. “That night when you said you wanted to stay in the Fire Nation with me permanently. What did you mean by that?”  
“Z-Zuko, you know what I meant,” she murmured, squeezing her eyes shut against the tears.  
“Please...tell me.”  
The waterbender opens her mouth to take a deep breath and suddenly the stilted words spill out. “I love you and not in a brotherly sort of way. I love you and when I said I wanted to live here, it meant being with you forever...or as long as you wanted me.”  
He tugged on her hand, directed her to his lap. Arms went around her, pulling her tight against him. “I want you forever.”  
She pressed her head against his shoulder, breathing ragged. “In w-what way?”Her hands curled against his chest. His heart beat roughly beneath her touch.  
“As my girlfriend, my best friend and, Agni willing, my wife.” Zuko dropped a kiss on the top of her head. “For now, we’ll start with dating. No use in getting ahead of ourselves.”  
Katara nodded against his shoulder. The months of pain unraveled themselves from her heart, soothed by his gentle words. She coughed delicately. “So...you love me?”  
“Very, very much, Katara.”  
“You better,” she muttered, causing him to chuckle.  
Zuko lifted her chin to meet his gaze. He licked his lips and said “I-I’m going to kiss you now...if that is okay with you?”  
“Yes, please,” she murmured. They both moved in, lips meeting in a long overdue kiss. Katara thought of nothing except his warmth and the feeling of his lips against hers. Why hadn’t they been kissing like this all along? This was wonderful!  
Zuko drew back with a lopsided grin. “Thank you.”  
Giggling, Katara responded with a breathy, “You’re welcome.” She brushed his silky strands out of his face. “Can we sit like this for a few more minutes?”  
“I think we deserve a break.”  
With both in definite agreement, they proceeded to explore the tenets of their new relationship. Katara learned that Zuko enjoyed having her fingers run through his hair while Zuko learned exactly where to kiss Katara on her neck to earn a tiny, little moan from her. By the time the sun dipped below the horizon, casting shadows in the palace, the Fire Lord and the Waterbender were breathless and panting.  
“I suppose we should get back to work,” Katara announced, shoving curls off her forehead.  
Grumbling, he agreed, dropping one final kiss on her forehead. “We can finish sorting and then I think it’s dinner time.”  
They exchanged a look, a mutual concern passing between them. “Can we wait to tell everyone about us?”  
The Fire Lord nodded in agreement. “Of course.”  
So, the pair finished up their work with only minor distractions. Katara excused herself first with one long, wistful look. She hurried back to her rooms, heart pounding. How foolish she’d been these past months!  
“How stupid of me,” she mumbled. “It’s like I became Sokka.” 

A week later, everyone readied for the performance of Much Ado About Dragons. Katara and Suki coaxed a reluctant Toph to visit the Royal Spa for a day of pampering. She griped and groaned through it all.  
“You’ve been in a good mood lately,” observed Suki as a pair of servants shampooed her hair. Katara winced as a servant pulled at her thick curls with an ivory comb. Her scalp burned from the work.  
“I don’t know.” She groaned. “What you mean.” The torture halted for a minute as a pair of nimble fingers massaged cooling oils onto her scalp.  
“How’s Zuko?”  
“Fine, I imagine.” Fighting off the warmth that invaded her tone. The servants finished their painful task.  
“Master Katara, we must dress you before we can finish your hair,” Jie stated, placing the ivory comb on the counter. Katara obeyed and followed the maid behind a silken screen. The theatre, it turned out, was a huge deal to the Fire Nation. Everyone dressed in their finery to escape the realities of their lives for a night. As guests of the Fire Lord, they were expected to show off that connection with beautiful and expensive clothing.  
And as the alleged lover to the Fire Lord, this meant Katara had been forced into fittings to construct a beautiful gown. The style was different from what she had seen of most Fire Nation nobility.  
Instead of her usual long trailing robes, she was dressed in a sleeveless dress in a deep red with embroidered gold dragons decorating the hem. The dress had to thick straps and wrapped around her form to tie in the back. Over this she wore a red short jacket with striped sleeves in alternating red and gold.  
Jie stepped away as Katara eyed herself in the mirror. This was certainly a different look, but she liked the fullness of the skirt. The maid returned with a pair of deep red shoes with upturned toes embroidered with silver moons and golden suns. She placed them on the ground and Katara stepped into them.  
Two pairs of hands tugged her back to a vanity where they began to style her hair. “Usually we use false hair, but you have enough that it should work fine,” Jie explained. Katara only nodded.  
By the time she finished, neck aching from the past hour, Suki and Toph were both ready to go and dressed in similar outfits to hers. Toph had demanded shades green while Suki accepted a pale pink. Katara eyed herself in the mirror, turning her head to the side. Thick, heavy braids wrapped around the crown of her head, covering her left ear on one side. Golden hair pins in the shape of stars encrusted with pretty jewels had been placed in the thick braids. Though her neck hurt, she quite liked this new look.  
“We look amazing,” gushed Suki, twirling in her silken skirts. “Now, we must meet the boys though I suppose they’re men now.”  
Twilight had fallen across the Caldera during their time in the Royal Spa. The men sat around the Fire Lord’s private sitting room, sharing a bottle of rice wine.  
“Ladies!” Sokka exclaimed, rising to his feet. “Come have a drink before we go! SUKI! You’re beautiful!” As Suki went to join Sokka, Toph stomped to sit in-between Iroh and Aang. Both men complimented the young earthbender on her looks. She shrugged off their compliments though even she had been unable to mask the grin on her lips.  
Katara slid onto the free pillow on Zuko’s left. Her hand immediately reached beneath the low table to grab his. The firebender slanted a glance at her, smothering a secret smile.  
“Good evening, Katara.”  
“Good evening, Zuko.”  
“That look really suits you,” he murmured. “I would kiss you, but…” His gaze flickered to the others. They still had not told anyone about the changes in their relationship. Katara assumed Toph already knew not that she had said anything. “Perhaps we can sneak away during the play…”  
Katara grinned up at him, granting him a small nod. “I hope so.”  
Toph slammed her palms on the table. “Sugar Queen! Sparky! Don’t you have something to share with us?”  
“T-Toph, what are you talking about?” The waterbender’s blue eyes bugged out of her head. She took her hand away from Zuko, clasping them in her lap. Zuko, on the other hand, nodded at Toph.  
“I think it’s time to tell them.”  
Sokka’s eyes narrowed into slits. “Tell us what exactly, Hotman? You haven’t knocked my sister up, have you?”  
“Sokka! Of course not! We have not been intimate yet!” Katara hung her head. “Toph and Zuko are talking about how we’re dating now.”  
“You two are dating?” Aang asked. His grey eyes shifted between the blushing pair. The monk groaned and covered his face with his hands. “That means I owe Toph money.”  
Toph pretended to examine her fingernails. “That’s why you never bet against the Blind Bandit.”  
“Oh, is that all?” Sokka tossed back another cup of rice wine. “I imagine it’d happen eventually.”  
“We all did,” put in Iroh. “The guards outside your study may have been the ones to pass along the news too.”  
Katara and Zuko exchanged a horrified look. So much for privacy, thought Katara. Then she shrugged and sidled up closer to Zuko. “Well, if everyone knows we can enjoy gratuitous displays of affection.”  
“You’re right,” agreed the firebender, arm snaking around her waist. Katara poured herself some wine and settled against his side.  
“When do we leave for the play?”  
“Soon. We’ll be walking to the theatre. It is a bit of a tradition so the people can see the Fire Lord.”  
“This nation sure takes theatre nights seriously,” commented Sokka. “And we just walk behind you like lesser beings or what?”  
Zuko raised a shoulder. “Not quite. Just act natural. It’s not that stiff. I mean, you’ll be escorting Suki. I’ll be escorting Katara.”  
“Twinkletoes will escort me,” Toph announced and received no protests.  
“And I shall smile and wave at all the pretty women,” decided Iroh, chuckling.


	3. Dragons Pt. 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I included "No-Fear Shakespeare" translations for ease.

“Allegedly, Hua Ling and Chung Hee are the leads,” Katara whispered to Zuko.  
“But Bora and Byung Chul steal the show with their...bickering,” he finished. Toph snorted in laughter.  
Below the Fire Lord’s balcony, the actors in outfits Zuko explained to be fashionable one hundred years ago, had taken the stage. Sokka had long fallen asleep, unable to follow the antiquated dialect. Suki rolled her eyes at her boyfriend but had given up on getting him to stay awake.

 _Bora: I wonder that you will still be talking, Sir Byung Chul._ | I’m amazed you’re still talking, Signior Benedick.  
_Nobody marks you. |_ No one’s listening to you. _  
_  
_Byung Chul: What, my dear Lady Disdain! Are you yet living?_ |Look, it’s my dear Lady Disdain! Aren’t you dead yet? _  
_  
_Bora: Is it possible disdain should die while she hath such meet food to feed it as Sir Byungchul?_ | How could disdain die when you’re here? _  
Courtesy itself must convert to disdain if you come in her presence._ | When you’re around, even Lady Courtesy becomes Lady Disdain. _  
_  
_Byung Chul: Then is courtesy a turncoat._ | That makes Lady Courtesy a traitor. _  
But it is certain I am loved of all ladies, only you excepted. And I would I could find in_ | All ladies love me, except you.  
_my heart that I had not a hard heart, for truly I love none._ | It’s too bad I’m so hard-hearted, because I really don’t love anyone.  
_  
Bora: A dear happiness to women._ | Women are lucky, then.   
_They would else have been troubled with a pernicious suitor._ | You would make a nasty suitor.  
_I thank Agni and my cold blood I am of your humor for that._ | Thankfully, I feel the same way you do. I have no need for romance.  
_I had rather hear my dog bark at a crow than a man swear he loves me._ | I would rather listen to my dog bark at a crow than hear a man swear that he loves me.

“I like her,” Katara commented, nodding her head.  
“You would,” muttered Toph, blowing her bangs off her forehead. “Have there been any dragons? The play is called Much Ado About Dragons...but no one’s mentioned dragons.”  
“You’re right. I want to see some dragons!” Aang bounced in his seat, bored by the plot of the play.  
“Dragons does not refer to actual dragons, I’m afraid. A long time ago, the word ‘dragon’ also meant ‘gossip’ or ‘rumour’. It fell out of fashion with the times. It refers to the false gossip the implant in the minds of Bora and Byung Chul to push them together. And the same rumours that cause Chung Hee to turn on Hua Ling.” Iroh explained in a loud whisper for them all to hear.  
“What? He turns on Hua Ling?” Suki hissed, head whipping around to the general.  
Iroh hung his head. “Forgive me, I did not mean to spoil it.”  
The play continued with little comment from any member of their party. Katara gripped Zuko’s hand tightly in hers, giggling with delight at Bora’s witty lines. She had commented early in the play that she didn’t care for Byung Chul. “He is too arrogant,” she muttered.  
Eventually the play meandered to where Bora and Byung Chul were left alone on stage. “This is it,” Katara and Suki whispered.

B _yung Chul: Lady Bora, have you wept all this while?_ | Lady Bora, have you been crying this entire time?

 _Bora: Yea, and I will weep a while longer._ | Yes, and I’ll keep crying a while longer.  
  
_Byung Chul: I will not desire that._ | I don’t wish that on you.   
  
_Bora: You have no reason. I do it freely._ | You don’t have to; I do it of my own free will. _  
_  
_Byung Chul: Surely I do believe your fair cousin is wronged._ | I really believe your cousin was falsely accused. _  
_  
_Bora: Ah, how much might the man deserve of me that would_ _right her! |_ Oh, the man who avenged her could ask anything of me! _  
_  
_Byung Chul: Is there any way to show such friendship?_ | Is there any way I could show such friendship to you? _  
_  
_Bora: A very even way, but no such friend._ |A very clear way, but there is no friend who will undertake it.  
  
_Byung Chul: May a man do it?_ | Can a man do it? _  
_  
_Bora: It is a man’s office, but not yours._ | It’s a job meant for a man, but not you. _  
_  
_Byung Chul: I do love nothing in the world so well as you._ | There is nothing in the world that I love as much as you. _  
Is not that_ _strange?_ | Isn’t that strange? _  
_  
_Bora: As strange as the thing I know not._ | It’s as strange as this other thing which I don’t understand. _  
It were as possible for_ _me to say I loved nothing so well as you,_ | I could just as easily say that there is nothing in the world that I love as much as you. _  
but believe me not,_ _and yet I lie not, I confess nothing, nor I deny nothing._ But don’t believe me—though I’m not lying. I confess nothing, and I deny nothing. _  
__I am_ _sorry for my cousin._ | I feel awful for my cousin. _  
_  
_Byung Chul: By my sword, Bora, thou lovest me._ | By my sword, Beatrice, you love me.  
  
_Bora: Do not swear, and eat it._ | Don’t swear like that and then go back and eat it later.  
  
_Byung Chul: I will swear by it that you love me,_ | I’ll swear by my swordthat you love me, too, _  
and I will make him eat_ _it that says I love not you._ | and I’ll make any man who says that I don’t love you eat it.  
  
_Bora: Will you not eat your word?_ | But you won't eat your words?  
  
_Byung Chul: With no sauce that can be devised to it._ | Not with any sauce they could provide for them. _  
I protest I love thee._ | I swear, I love you. _  
_  
_Bora: Why then, Agni forgive me._ | Well then, Agni forgive me. _  
_  
_Byung Chul: What offense, sweet Bora?_ | What, what have you done, sweet Bora? _  
_  
_Bora: You have stayed me in a happy hour._ | You got to me first. _  
I was about to protest I loved you._ | I was about to swear I loved you.

 _Byung Chul: And do it with all thy heart._ | Then do so, with all your heart. 

_Bora: I love you with so much of my heart that none is left to protest._ | I love you so much of my heart that none of it is left to protest with.   
  
_Byung Chul: Come, bid me do anything for thee._ | Come, ask me to do anything for you. _  
_  
_Bora: Kill Chung Hee._ | Kill Chung Hee. _  
_  
_Byung Chul: Ha! Not for the wide world._ | Ha! I wouldn't do that for the whole wide world. _  
_  
_Bora: You kill me to deny it. Farewell. |_ Then, rejecting my request, you kill me. Goodbye. 

Toph spoke first in a giddy tone. “That definitely sounds like Sweetness.” The scene continued with an argument between the lovers. Bora staunchly defending her cousin’s virtues believing Chung Hee to be wrong and her enemy, going to far as to vow to tear Chung Hee's heart out and eat it. However, Bora got her way and the scene ended with Byung Chul promising he’d make Chung Hee pay for the wrongs committed against Hua Ling.  
“Yes,” agreed Katara. “He needs to pay for what he’s done.”  
In the end through careful maneuvering of the other characters, Hua Ling and Chung Hee were reunited, finally marrying one another. But then, Bora and Byung Chul became fools once more denying their love at the wedding of their friends.

 _Byung Chul: Do you not love me?_ | Do you love me? _  
_  
_Bora: Why no, no more than reason._ | No, no more than is reasonable. _  
_  
_Byung Chul: Why then, your uncle and the Prince and Chung Hee_ _have been deceived._ | Well, then you uncle and the Prince and Chung Hee have been deceived. _  
They swore you did._ | They swore you did. _  
_  
_Bora: Do you not love me?_ | Do you love me? _  
_  
_Byung Chul: Troth, no, no more than reason._ | Truly, no, no more than is reasonable.   
_Bora: Why then, my cousin, Ming Hua and Cho Hee_ _are much deceived,_ | Well then, my cousin, Ming Hua and Cho Hee are much deceived. _  
for they did swear you did._ | for they swore you did.   
  
_Byung Chul: They swore you were almost sick for me._ | They swore that you were sick with love for me. _  
_  
_Bora: They swore that you were well-nigh dead for me._ | They swore that you were nearly dead with love for me. _  
_  
_Byung Chul: 'Tis no such matter. Then you do not love me?_ | Oh, well, then you do not love me? _  
_  
_Bora: No, truly, but in friendly recompense._ | No, I don't--except as a friend. 

“What?! They cannot be serious!” Katara yelled, rising to her feet. Her hands dug into the balcony, glaring down at the stage. “They love each other! Everyone knows that!”  
Every single person in the theatre turned to the Fire Lord’s private balcony. Some gasped and others scowled at the Master Waterbender and alleged lover of their great ruler. The actors, too, looked confused at the interruption.  
“Katara,” began Zuko in a pleading voice.  
“But Zuko, they can’t just end that way…”  
The Fire Lord yanked her down into her chair and signaled for the actors to continue. “Just sit and watch the play. You can rage later.”  
She tossed her head back, eyes turning icy. “Fine.” She ignored the snickering from the seating behind her and glared daggers at the stage.

 _Chung Hee: And I’ll be sworn upon ’t that he loves her, |_ And I’ll swear that he loves her.   
_For here’s a paper written in his hand, A halting sonnet of his own pure brain,_ | Here’s a clumsy sonnet, in Benedick’s handwriting,  
_Fashioned to Bora._ | dedicated to Bora.   
  
_Hua Ling: And here’s another,_ _Writ in my cousin’s hand, stol'n from her pocket,_ | And here’s another poem, which I stole from my cousin’s pocket—in her handwriting   
_Containing her affection unto Byung Chul._ | and all about her adoration for Benedick. _  
_  
_Byung Chul: A miracle! Here’s our own hands against our hearts._ | What a miracle! Our handwriting gives away our hearts. _  
__Come, I_ _will have thee, but, by this light, I take thee for pity._ | Come on, I’ll take you, but honestly I’m only doing it out of pity. _  
_  
_Bora: I would not deny you, but, by this good day,_ | I won’t say no to you, _  
I yield upon_ _great persuasion, and partly to save your life,_ | but let it be known that I’m only doing this after a lot of persuasion and to save your life — _  
for I was told_ _you were in a consumption._ | I hear you were quickly wasting away without me. _  
_  
_Byung Chul: Peace! I will stop your mouth. |_ Oh, shut up! I'll stop your mouth with a kiss. 

At last, they kissed, to the theatre’s delight and raucous approval. Sokka had woken up after his sister’s outburst, rubbing at his eyes. Iroh clapped heartily and Toph stomped her feet on the ground.  
“What happened?” Sokka blinked, looking around the dim theatre.  
“Byung Chul said he’ll marry Bora out of pity and she said she’s only marrying him to save his life because he’d waste away without her,” Suki explained, tears glittering in her eyes. “It’s just so beautiful and it represents Zuko’s and Katara’s stubbornness so perfectly. What a beautiful play.”  
Katara had tears running down her cheeks. She clung to Zuko’s arm, burying her face in his arm. “They love each other so much, Zuko. I’m so happy for them.”  
“It’s only a play. They’re not real people.”   
“But they’re based on you guys allegedly,” Aang pointed out. “Maybe that’s why she’s so happy...but also crying?” He shook his head. “I don’t know.”  
Katara turned on her boyfriend, fingers clinging to his sleeves. “I want to see it again.”  
Zuko glanced back to Iroh, eyebrows raised in an unasked question. The grey-haired firebender shook his head. “I’m afraid, Katara, this was a one night event. I’m certain they’ll release the play as a book due to its popularity and assumed basis in reality.”  
Katara peered up at her boyfriend, blue eyes shining and nose red. “Will they really, Zuko?”   
Zuko’s reply died in his throat. He patted her shoulder in an awkward motion, swallowing hard. “I-I...yes, I’m sure they will. I’ll contact the playwright tomorrow.” He used his sleeve to wipe away her tears. “Are you ready to go?”   



End file.
